The Giver, By Lois Lowry

When your parents ask you to hand over the tv remote or get something for them you usually do it without asking, right? You might complain or even refuse, but the characters in Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” don’t have the option of choosing. Jonas, the protagonist of this book, followed the rules of his community without questioning anything, just like everyone else. Progressively, Jonas begins to see and experience events that transformed his outlook on his community; watching the twin’s realise, asking his parents if they loved him and experiencing pain.
Originally, Jonas thought when people were ‘released’, (a term used in “The Giver” many times), they were brought Elsewhere (Another place). When the Giver suggests that Jonas watch the twin’s release that had been recorded, his entire world changed. Watching this tape was the turning point of how Jonas viewed his community. During the video, Jonas thought positive things, like: “Now he cleans him (the twin) up and makes him comfy,” (Lowry, 150) but as he watched the baby stop squirming, and how calm his father was throughout the situation, he realized that release was far more sinister than what he had previously thought. After watching this unfold, Jonas refused to go home that day.
During one of his lessons, he was Given the feeling and visuals of love, something foreign to him. A warm house surrounded by family members was one of the things he witnessed during his training. “Do you love me?” (Lowry, 127) is what Jonas asked his parents when he returned to his family unit. They begin to explain that “love” was a generalized word and was meaningless. Jonas begins to wonder if anyone he knows loves him at all. Because of this moment with his parents and his fight with Asher, Jonas understands that the people he loves and cares for can’t feel anything for him or know as much as he